Essay: Analysis of the Female Character in Literature

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the female character in Miranda July's short story, 'The Man on the Stairs.' The analysis delves into the narrator's individualistic nature, her internal conflicts, and the societal pressures she faces. It examines the themes of paranoia, loneliness, self-doubt, and the character's struggle to fit into societal expectations. The essay highlights the narrator's detachment from her emotions, her relationship with others, and her yearning for validation. Furthermore, it explores the climax of the story, where the narrator confronts a stranger, and how this encounter affects her perceptions. The essay also touches upon the symbolism of death and the narrator's eventual acceptance of her feelings. The author references Hunter (2004) and July (2007) to support the arguments presented in the analysis.

Running head: ENGLISH
ANALYIS OF THE FEMALE CHARACTER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1ANALYIS OF THE FEMALE CHARACTER
The man on the stairs by Miranda July is a very interesting read. It can be noticed that
there is a sense of tension in the story (July, 2007). There is a sense of confusion that is eminent
throughout the story it is also important to note that the confusion follows through until the end.
The female narrator in the story is very interesting. The story starts with a deadening paranoia of
a man creeping up the stairs. The fear of an eminent death is drawing near with every step. The
author Miranda July has been able to successfully create a sense of tension. The female character
runs a series of thoughts in her mind which she keeps critiquing and analyzing much like the
paranoia of the man on the stairs.
The female character is a very individualistic, she understands that she may be close to
death but after her initial fear she analyses herself. In the very first paragraph she mentions that
she has never been someone who savors life’s moments, instead she rushes through them as if
the moments are almost an inconvenience that forces her to keep some kind of appearance for the
sake of the people around her. Miranda July has successfully shown a woman’s own
apprehensions that they have towards themselves and this need to fit into a society. The character
does not give herself the time to live in the moment instead she dreads it and constantly looking
for an opportunity to escape. “I just rush through it, like I’m being chased.” The author shows a
glimpse of the modern woman who is an individual who is detached and lonely. The impatience
is also symbolical of youth, youth is fleeting even more so in the case of a woman. The society
projects this idea of a woman and how they are supposed to be and they spend their whole life
trying to fit into a construct that is not even created by them. The narrator is very self-aware and
yet distances from her emotions.
The narrator is lonely and she does not have any friends but acquaintances who she
pretends in front of in order to keep up appearances. She is lonely even in her relationship this

2ANALYIS OF THE FEMALE CHARACTER
can be understood when she says, “he is so far away and he always will be.” Though she claims
to love him yet she says she has never experienced true love. She dwells in self-doubt and never
feels good enough to be admired. The death is the loneliness that she constantly carries with
herself unable to share it with anyone because she feels it will never be god enough (Hunter,
2004). She fantasizes death and craves that validation that never comes. She feels like she is a
beast someone who is not worthy of love.
The author builds up a climax where the narrator is faced by a stranger and it is nothing
like she has been imagining to be, it is an ordinary stranger and at once all her imagination and
hope comes to an end. The death also signifies her need for the pretentions to end. So, the last
line, is interesting to examine as she states that she has already died showing that maybe she has
finally come to terms with her feelings and is done with pretensions.

3ANALYIS OF THE FEMALE CHARACTER
Reference
Hunter, M. J. (2004). The Man on the Stairs Who Wasn't There: What Does a Defendant's Pre-
Arrest Silence Have to Do with Miranda, the Fifth Amendment, or Due Process. Hamline
L. Rev., 28, 277.
July, M. (2007). No one belongs here more than you: Stories. Simon and Schuster.